DURANGO, Colo. – Aidan Thompson threw five touchdown passes, Tommy Thomas set an all-time program record and the Eagle defense pitched a shutout as Chadron State football won its sixth consecutive Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference game with a 41-0 victory over Fort Lewis.

With three receiving touchdowns on the day, Thomas became the Chadron State career touchdown receptions leader with 27. He was the primary target throughout the day for Thompson, who completed 25 of 35 passes for 237 yards and threw for all five of the touchdowns that were scored with no interceptions. The offense finished with 25 first downs and 450 total yards.

The Eagles' strong defense certainly did its share, limiting Fort Lewis to seven first downs and 128 total net yards plus recovering three Skyhawk fumbles that the offense turned into touchdowns. 

After five consecutive victories where the Chadron State offense scored on its first possession, the Eagles came up empty initially against the Skyhawks. CSC received the opening kickoff and drove 55 yards in 10 plays to the hosts' 20-yard line, but were stopped on a fourth and one situation, giving up the ball on downs. 

That didn't spell doom for the Eagles, however. They drove 98 yards and scored on their second possession, capped by the day's longest pass, a 63-yard connection that junior Devon Sundgren took down the middle of the field with three minutes remaining in the opening period as the Eagles led 7-0 after 15 minutes.

Chadron State also scored twice in the second quarter when Thompson connected both times with senior receiver Tommy Thomas, who finished with 12 catches for 100 yards, his third 100-yard receiving game of the year.

Thompson and Thomas initially hooked up on a 10-yard strike to cap a 63-yard drive with four minutes remaining before halftime. Just two-and-a-half minutes later, Thomas scored again on a five-yard toss shortly after Eagles' defensive end William Stemler forced Fort Lewis quarterback Jake Jones to fumble and CSC linebacker Reese Jacobs pounced on the ball at the Skyhawks' 25. 

It initially appeared that the Eagles had lost that scoring opportunity when Fort Lewis intercepted a CSC pass. But the pick was nullified by a pass interference call against the Skyhawks, and two plays later, the Eagles were in the end zone and led 21-0 at halftime. 

The Eagles cashed in on another Fort Lewis turnover early in the second half. A Skyhawk muffed Brodie Eisenbraun's 53-yard punt and the loose ball was claimed by one of the CSC special teams hustlers, Rylan Wehr, at the Fort Lewis eight-yard line. 

The Thompson and Thomas combo immediately connected for their third touchdown of the day. It was Tommy Tom's, as he's popularly known on the Chadron State campus, 11th touchdown catch this season and the 27th of his career, making him the Eagles' all-time leader in TD receptions. The old mark of 26 was shared by Tevon Wright, a native of Florida who graduated in 2019, and Cole Thurness of Rapid City, S.D., who concluded his career in 2021. 

That wasn't the end of the Eagles' remarkable success in turning Fort Lewis misfortune into points. Midway in the third period, Skyhawks running back KB Broadus gained 15 yards for his team's longest play of the game, but lost the ball when he was tackled by safety Sutton Pohlman, which was recovered by defensive end Andrew Calderon at the Fort Lewis 43. Chadron State went ahead 35-0 on another eight-yard scoring pass thrown by Thompson, this time to sophomore Garet Schlabs. Thompson's 25-yard pass to Deon Metezier preceded the TD toss. 

Chadron State also added Wilson Yee field goals of 20 and 36 yards, the first late in the third period and the second early in the fourth. Yee also kicked three extra points before turning those duties over to redshirt freshman Shay Prichard following the two third period TDs. 

While the CSC ground game didn't get in on the scoring, it also was effective, gaining 164 yards on 39 carries. Daytuawn Pearson was the leader with 14 rushes for 98 yards, including a 54-yard romp that set up the Eagles' first field goal. The Eagles made the trip without redshirt freshman Quincey Ryker, who rushed for 220 yards and scored three touchdowns the previous Saturday during the 37-20 win over New Mexico Highlands. 

The Eagles defensive statistics were balanced with 18 players recording tackles. Linebacker Logan O'Brien, a three-time RMAC Defensive Player of the Week this season, led CSC in tackles with six and forced a fumble. 

Pohlman, Ryder True and Cooper Walton each participated in five stops. All together, the Eagles had eight tackles for losses and broke up five passes to go with the three fumble recoveries that were converted into points. 

The Eagles are idle this coming Saturday before meeting South Dakota Mines in Rapid City on November 1. Chadron State (6-2, 6-0 RMAC), CSU Pueblo (7-1, 6-0 RMAC) and Western Colorado (7-0, 5-0 RMAC) all remain unbeaten in conference play after this week's games.

Eagle Volleyball Falls To UCCS

CHADRON, Neb. – Chadron State battled and had a set point in the second set, but the UCCS Mountain Lions rose to the occasion with a couple gritty set wins to defeat the Eagles in straight sets – 25-19, 26-24, 25-22 – during Saturday evening RMAC volleyball action in the Chicoine Center.

Kally Kirkwood led the team with 10 kills and hit a season-best .381 in the effort for Chadron State, while Josie Loosvelt took primary control of the libero position for CSC and recorded a team-high 13 digs.

Chadron State (4-14, 1-7 RMAC) lost in three sets for the third consecutive match, but the Eagles were far more competitive in their second match of the weekend against a UCCS team with a sparkling record (16-2, 7-1 RMAC).

The Eagles finished with fewer attack errors than the Mountain Lions (12 vs. 13) and hit .206 as a team to attack better than .200 for the eighth time in their 18 matches in 2025. Chadron State also finished with the same number of aces (6-6) and blocks (5-5) against their co-RMAC leading opponents. 

In the opening frame, UCCS raced out to an 11-5 lead and led by as many as nine after a Payton Tompkins ace made it 21-12. Chadron State rallied with a 5-1 run to cut the lead to five after two kills from Mataya Ward (who finished with eight) and one from Chloe Grady, but service errors on back-to-back serving opportunities gave UCCS its final two points as the visitors won set one, 25-19. 

The second set was CSC's best. The Eagles hit .324 in the set by racking up 13 kills against only one attack error. 

Chadron State took initiative by building a 4-1 lead, although UCCS tied it up soon after. Kirkwood took over, recording three kills and a block alongside Shelbi Hazlitt in the span of six points while aces from Shelby Harding and Naomi Starr helped CSC build a 14-10 lead. 

The Eagles kept the Mountain Lions at arm's length, as UCCS pulled within one point twice, then tied it once at 23-23, only for the Eagles to find a kill each time to maintain the lead. Gibson Beckler's kill gave Chadron State a 24-23 lead with a chance to serve for the set. 

UCCS smartly called timeout, and the Eagle serve after the layoff went into the net. The Mountain Lions seized the opening, recording kills by Tompkins and Rylee Pitts for the comeback 26-24 set win. 

The second-set reversal of fortunes seemed to take the air out of the sails of CSC. The Mountain Lions jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the third set and led by as many as nine points at 13-4. 

The Eagles showed resiliency, cutting the lead to a single point after a 5-0 run with back-to-back kills from Ward and Bella Adams, but CSC could never tie the frame and the Mountain Lions pulled out a 25-22 set win to earn the sweep. 

Behind Kirkwood's 10 kills, Mataya Ward had eight and Gibson Beckler had six, with all three recording over 20 attempts, while Adams added five. Beckler also added 11 digs, one of two Eagles in double digits alongside Loosvelt. 

CSC has a quick turnaround, heading to Spearfish to face Black Hills State at 6 p.m. The Eagles will not have a Friday match, then will host South Dakota Mines in the Chicoine Center Saturday night at 6 p.m. Unlike the last meetings with their South Dakota rivals, this upcoming week's matches will count in the RMAC standings.